Outrage is like catnip to some people…myself included. We find an issue to be mad about, we make a couple of Tweets, and we post some articles on Facebook… And that’s about it. But the kind of anger we experience is meant to spur us into ACTION. Instead, we get the relief of being angry about things, and even experiencing some corporate outrage in the echo chambers of social media… Then we feel a little bit better, and move onto the next issue–But nothing really CHANGES. It’s a counterfeit. And then–a few months later–when the same exact sort of injustice happens again, we’re left wondering, “Why hasn’t anyone DONE something about this!?!”Well, before we all move on to the next issue, I’d like to suggest a few things that actually need to change… Particularly within my tribe: Christianity.

1. Change The Way You Read The Bible

Stop reading the Bible the way that ISIS reads the Qur’an. The people who commit horrible acts like what happened in Orlando are the sort of people who are CERTAIN that their way of understanding scripture is the one right way. If you are the kind of person who tries to quote a verse in Leviticus to “prove” that God hates homosexuality, you are part of the problem. And if you are the sort of person who thinks one verse that has Jesus telling his disciples to “buy a sword” negates the overwhelming call for nonviolence on Jesus’ followers, again, you are part of the problem. The shooter’s father said (in a video comment), “The issue of homosexuality and its punishment–all that they do–God himself will give punishment to homosexuality. It is not for people to decide.” This way of seeing things isn’t about Christianity or about Islam.. It’s about fundamentalism. It’s about a dangerous certainty that informs the way people read scripture, and interprets what is read as having God be for *them* and against everyone else.

If you feel threatened when you see a flag like this, you are probably reading the Bible the wrong way…

I don’t care what religion you call yourself–You cannot separate the belief in the violent God (who is planning on sending all the gays to be tortured forever in Hell) from the acts of violence committed in his name. Reading the Bible in a way that ends up with a god who you have to keep reminding people was “vengeful and full of wrath” has real-world consequences. And right now we are seeing the fruits of those beliefs in a hate-filled God… We are seeing the fruits of the garbage that is “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” This. Needs. To change. There are other ways to read and understand the Bible (THIS IS THE BEST EXPLANATION OF THAT I HAVE EVER READ).

2. Change The Way You Pray

Telling people you are “praying for them,” while believing that the god you are praying to hates them enough to send them to Hell is one of the most F’ed Up things that I can imagine. Most of those same people probably believe that I’m going to Hell also. And I totally get why you’d think I’m going to Hell… We believe in completely different Gods! You believe in the god who hates his enemies, and I believe in the God who LOVES his enemies. Either way, if our prayers are to have any significance at all, our prayers need to become loving actions. Otherwise, what are they worth? In the Bible, James writes about this…

“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or a sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”–but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”

There was a neat story about Chick-Fil-A workers going into work on a Sunday (when Chick-Fil-A is usually closed) and making sandwiches to give to the people who were waiting in-line to give blood. And as awesome as this is, if it’s done out of some desire to save people from hellfire, it is “dead and meaningless.” We’re not trying to feed people as a means to an end… Hoping to get them to say some meaningless, magical prayer that will save them FROM a monstrous God who is sending everyone but a very select few to be tortured forever. We feed people because they are hungry. We feed people because they are people. We love people because they are worthy of being loved.And we remind them that they have infinite worth, and that there is a Force in the universe that loves them wildly… Regardless of where they are from. Regardless of what name they have for God. Regardless of what they have or what they look like… And yes–Regardless of who they love.

If you don’t feel comfortable sitting next to people in church, you probably don’t have any business telling them they are in your #ThoughtsAndPrayers. This photo was taken by the amazing Tabitha Hawk… A member of our Church.

All over the place, we saw people summoning “Thoughts and Prayers” for the victims in Orlando, and for their families… But many of the people making those pleas were the very same folks who have been actively working to pass laws that make it legal for people to discriminate against the sorts of people who might go to a club like Pulse on a Saturday night. And those same folks call for a”moment of silence” in honor of the ones who died? I agree with Rep. Jim Hines, who said that these, “smug, self-empowering moments of silence in the House… do absolutely nothing for anybody.” If there is any sort of abomination involved here, it is the process of going through the motions of “honoring” a group of people you believe are worthless–Or at least worth less. Keep your moments of silence. Silence is what the LGBT community has been getting for a very long time from many of our elected leaders… I doubt they need any more. Which leads me to my next change…

3. Change The Way You Vote

Somewhere around 90% of Americans favor stricter gun control laws. Do you have any idea how hard it is right now to get 90% of Americans to agree on ANYTHING?!? It is next to impossible. There is absolutely no rational reason for people to be able to buy military weapons that are designed to kill many people in a very short amount of time. And even though the republican allegiance to the NRA is easier to see, this is far from an issue that is split down party lines… There are plenty of democrats who are bought and sold by the NRA as well. These are people who profit off of our fear, and they need to be voted out. This is a public health crisis. As Nicholas Kristof wrote (and was proven true), “More Americans have died from guns in the United States since 1968 than on battlefields of all the wars in American history.” Yet we have a legislature that is so owned by the NRA that it doesn’t allow our government to keep statistics on gun deaths anymore, or even STUDY gun violence. President Obama explains this better than I could ever hope to in this video:

This video is so very important for all of us to watch. This situation is not hopeless. There are things we can do to make our world safer. And save lives. If you want to call yourself “Pro-Life,” then BE pro life. We have an election right around the corner. Please–If you care about this, vote in a way that reflects that concern. Twenty of the lives that were lost in Newtown were kids. These 49 young lives taken in Orlando were people’s children. If all of the people who claimed to be Christians voted in a way that reflected actually being “Pro-life” for more than just Life Before Birth, we could actually DO SOMETHING to make these sorts of tragedies less likely. And I realize people will say things like “People who want to murder can do it with a knife or a hammer” or “Cars kill people–should we ban those too?” or some other BS… But here’s the thing: Cars have uses other than killing people. And if this jack hole in Orlando had walked into that night club with a knife or a hammer, there would be a whole lot fewer calls that had to be made to parents, explaining that the child they love has been killed by a madman–A maniac who we have guaranteed the right to freely purchase a weapon of mass destruction. I get it–Murderers are still going to murder… But we don’t have to make it so easy for them.

4. Change Where You Go To Church

If you go to a church that doesn’t welcome queer folks every bit as fully as you would welcome straight people, you can keep your #ThoughtsAndPrayers. The Church was never meant to be a place of exclusion. The way Christians have treated the LGBT community will soon be looked back on in the same shameful way we look back on the way the Church justified discrimination and hatred and exclusion of People of Color and women. If you feel your heart breaking and changing and evolving on the issue of inclusion within Christianity, you don’t have to stay in a place that preaches exclusion. There are other options… Churches like the one my family and I attend. Last year a whole bunch of people from our church went to Nashville’s Pride event, and we walked in the rain along side our LGBT brothers and sisters, as people calling themselves “Christians” shouted hateful garbage through their megaphones. It was lovely… the day was filled with the kindest folks you’ll ever meet. I took my kids. They loved it. Here’s a picture from last year’s Pride:

That’s me over on the right, along with a couple of my kiddos. We can’t wait to go back this month… And no act of violence by some deranged fundamentalist could keep us from returning to stand with our friends.

My life is so much richer for having people in it who are different than me. And belonging to a faith community that reflects that reality has been so life-giving. I feel so sorry for those people who go to a church where they feel like they may be the only person in the building who cried their eyes out watching “Rent.” There is no reason why anyone should feel trapped in a church that is focused on exclusion. If the people you are surrounded with respond to tragedies like the Orlando massacre with demonization of Muslims, blaming of immigrants, calls for even more weapons of war, and silence on the hypocrisy of prayers to a God who supposedly looks on these victim’s orientation as being one that is worthy of death, THERE ARE OTHER PLACES FOR YOU TO GO TO CHURCH. Vote with your feet. Christianity has never been about exclusion. If your church community is more about who it keeps out than who it welcomes in, you are in the wrong kind of church. If Christianity is to be worth anything at all, then we must be allies and advocates and friends to the vulnerable people around us. We must be examples of rational minds and radical love… And not the other way around.

If you value this blog and want to support it with a couple bucks a month, it is really easy to do. You can become a Patron on my Patreon Page. Nathan McKinney is one of my newest patrons… I’m totally honored. And he’s totally going to win himself a T-shirt. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter. Let us keep looking for ways to respond to hatred with love. Let us continue to strive to Be The Change…

The first time you wrote that on something I wrote, I very kindly asked you what you were trying to say. But this is about the 10th time you’ve shown up, written “Every plate overflows with it’s contains,” and it’s getting old. And every time you write “it’s,” which is short for “it is.” The word you are looking for is “ITS.” You are doing the comment equivalent of guerrilla warfare… You are tossing random comment grenades, and that tactic is not welcome here. Don’t toss verse grenades… Don’t toss comment grenades… Engage in conversation.

Sorry Bob, but Chris is correct. “It’s” is always a contraction of “it is.” The word for which the nonsensical writer is looking is “its.” And the sentence is gobbledygook anyway. If he has something intelligent to add to the conversation, I hope he chimes in. Otherwise, don’t waste our time.

That our brothers and sisters, cousins and uncles and aunts, have to live in the shadows. It gets me.

I know that people who are different scare me. I also know that in my best moments I realize I’m disobeying the directive to love. And I try to make myself more obedient and more kind. I’m very slowly changing to become more like I want to be.

There were 49 people mowed down by a madman. I want those men and women to have people who will remember them as their sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, moms, dads, sisters, brothers, friends, lovers, spouses. They were with us for a short time. We will remember them.

Yeah, good writers do that. The line that you think, “but why is this here?” That’s the line that sticks.

I’m in NYC this week, far from my usual haunts. It’s a city that’s mostly unknown to me, bu it is *full* of people, and “Rent” is set here.

And I can’t help but think about all these people, and the people represented in “Rent,” as this large mass of people who all just want to have a life, to be known, and to have meaning.

And so help me, we Christians sometimes seems to be doing everything we can to exclude our brothers and sisters and deny them any meaning in the sight of God.

So thanks for your words about our people, our planet, our world. It is walking with people that enables us to have a witness with them–and sometimes, that witness might not include any actual words of the gospel.

Just an observation. Your numbers on gun control support are significantly off mark. Even if you look at the President’s proposals on this issue the real numbers are: Democrats (85%), independents (65%) and Republicans (51%). Even POTUS does not enjoy 90% support on this issue. The 90% number is wishful thinking.

What? What do you mean by the responsible terrorists? In this case, it appears to be a man who is in horror to discover he might be gay and does what he can to kill that part of him, and to kill those who are like him.

It’s neither Muslim or Christian, or even gay (which of course should go without saying).

It’s a man who is apparently conflicted by who he is compared to what society demands regarding masculinity and humanity.

It has been my experience that people who give themselves the fake name “John Galt” are usually not interested in real conversation, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt…

You are thinking in a way that is “Us versus Them,” friend. It is their God versus our God–Their religion versus our religion. But the very point I’m trying to make here is that approaching the Bible that way (or even the concept of God) is the reason behind these sorts of events. Christians who read the Bible this way (certainty that “WE’RE right, and everyone else is wrong… And that God is on OUR side) is the same way that ISIS reads the Qur’an. Sometimes it’s easier to see the “crazy” in the way OTHER groups do things… Then, if someone can show you how the stuff YOU do is just like the stuff THEY do, maybe you can realize that it’s not really THEM who is crazy… It’s the methods. It’s the hermeneutic. It’s the way of seeing things.

And like Stephen, said–It’s one man who did this. Just because he called 911 and pledged his allegiance to ISIS doesn’t mean he had any actual contact with them. His full motives, and the depth of his madness is far from fully known. But we can look at his madness, see where we have that same sort of madness, and do everything in our power to rid ourselves of that way of understanding the world.

One of many reasons why I left Christianity and became an Asatruar / Heathen. Too much arrogance and ignorance and controlling in the church I was raised in. I also had to deal with isolation, abuse and violence. Good thing is I have met Christians who are not like the ones who give Jesus a bad name. I have respect for those who do not hate and will try to repair relationships and not treat people as less than human.

I don’t know a lot about how ISIS reads the Qur’an but I do know how people are supposed to study the Bible. You read entire passages and allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. You try to understand what the text meant to the audience for which it was intended in that day and age. You learn about ceremonial aspects of the Mosaic Law and what Jesus had to say about them. You decide how Jesus “fulfilled” the Law and the Prophets. You try your very best to avoid reading into the text or allowing current culture to dictate your interpretation. There is nothing wrong with the sentiment “love the sinner hate the sin” but it probably does more harm than good due to its often flippant use. We should hate our own sin, first and foremost. We should realize that Jesus asked us to take out the PLANK in our own eye first before trying to remove the SPECK from our neighbor’s eye. We realize the magnitude of our own sin. There are many loving, faithful Christians who come to different conclusions after studying what Scripture says about certain topics. It is fine to challenge politely different ideas. The problem comes when we, on whatever end of the spectrum, make wide generalizations about those who interpret differently than we do. We shouldn’t assume they read the Bible like ISIS reads the Qur’an or that they don’t care anything about the Bible. Finally, why would we add any speculation after commending Chick-fil-A employees for serving people in Orlando on Sunday? We should say we are grateful and appreciate their kindness. End of story. Just like we say that we love and pray for the families of the Orlando victims and those recovering from the horrible attack. End of story.

Cellastone, I respectfully disagree and agree with some of your points. I forced myself to keep reading after your initial comment “I do know how people are supposed to study the Bible.” No, you don’t. Nor do I. We do know how we were taught to read the Bible. That’s it. And the whole point I feel Chris was getting at was to please just stop, stop for a moment and take a look at that. Rigid historical interpretations can and do repel so many with enormous faith.

I do agree that overgeneralizing can shut people down. With that said, I breathe a little easier each time I read a new post. I breathe easier as a Christian who has not found a home for her family in a church precisely because of ridged interpretations that do not aline in our current culture. Christianity feels conditional in many houses of whorship. “Love thy neighbor” BUT only if your neighbor fits in a box labeled x, y or z and most importantly a box that you are most comfortable with.

I welcome the opportunity Chris provides us to think outside of these boxes that at times conventional whorship seems to require. I also welcome Chris’s use of irony in bringing up Chic-Fil-A. Yes, let’s us be thankful they gave when confronted with the need right outside their door. The company publicly and in my view, unnecessarily, gave their firm opinions on a marginalized community long ago but when the world is watching they embrace. It’s ironic not speculation. As Christians, embrace regardless if the world is watching or scripture tells you so.
Lucy

celiastone, you very eloquently said what I have struggled to articulate since reading this troubling post. Chris’s generalizations about certain “sorts of people” as well as his willingness to embrace doubts about the Orlando killer’s motives while suggesting that Chick Fil-A Christians might just be trying to buy their way out of hell stand out as particularly vitriolic.

It’s hard for me to believe that Chris really sees the target of this post as his fellow tribesmen. I say target and not audience because I think that folks like Lucy p represent the true audience that he is writing for. That is fine. And it’s fine to point out the importance of hermeneutics to the conclusions we draw from our Bibles and to advocate for a particular way to read scripture. It’s fine to advocate for gun laws and for public service. These are all good things. What’s not okay is to do those things at the expense of those you disagree with. If Chris was really addressing his tribe, he wouldn’t belittle, disparage, and disrespect what his fellows obviously hold very dear. No, this post is a dog whistle for Chris’s true pack, one that is clearly comforted and reassured by the rhetorical bludgeoning of “Christians”.

To be clear, I am not suggesting that Chris or others are not truly Christians. I am saying that Chris must not identify with those he claims to address. I’m saying that it is wrong to curry favor with one audience by disparaging another. Maybe he should take his own advice and consider that perhaps the certainty he feels about the right and wrong way to interpret the Bible might be wrong. Perhaps pledging your act of mass murder to Abu Bakar al Baghdadi makes you a terrorist and not believing the Earth is 6000 years old or having a traditional view of marriage. But then civil discourse doesn’t get clicks, does it?

Accept that the numerous often-outright-conflicting interpretations, beliefs, practices, and belief systems which have emerged through the centuries are directly due to the ambiguities of the Quran, the Old and New Testament Scriptures, and the successional “living deposit-of-truth” organizations.

Acknowledge that the ambiguity of the meanings of these sources inevitably allow, enable, and generate such diverse spectra of beliefs even when people, individually or collectively, do sincerely, intelligentlyy, and comprehensively seek to understand these sources.

Realize that such ambiguity evidences the unreliability and ultimate uselessness of these sources for knowing “spiritual truth”.

Accept that continuing to cling to these sources as though they in any way are spiritual revelation is merely wishful thinking.
Accept reality, even though reality may not contain theeternally-unchangeable moral/ethical absolutes; nor the ultimate purpose for existence or sufferings; nor blissful conscious eternity after death; nor the divine oversight and shepherding; nor the final justice for, and setting right to, all wrongs and evils; which we as fragile, vulnerable humans wish reality contained.

Jun 27, 2016 2:58pm
I don’t need to change, stop painting all Christians with the same brush if you want to be heard. I was raised a liberal Presbyterian and the church I attend has many gay members. This makes me really angry you post this rubbish. Saying all Christians need to change is like saying all Gay people need to change its bigoted.

I grew up in New York state and the Episcopalians and Presbyterians here were the ones defending gay people when the secular society was persecuting gay people. I really resent the tone of this piece, If Mr. Boeskool did not talk down to Christians he might see more of a positive response to his ideas. He needs to say conservative Christians, traditional southern evangelicals, fundamentalists etc. but not just Christians because in many parts of the country and in many denominations it is the Christians who defend and help gay people. Episcopalians and Presbyterians accepted Gay people where I live in the 70s, for crying out loud. I grew up in a small town church with a gay clerk of session who only recently died. I am a punchy because every single day I am attacked on Facebook for my faith. The Presbyterian Church USA ordains gay people as clergy and performs same sex weddings. I attend a small church of only about 90s people and we have 4 gay couples who worship with us. Like I said Boeskool is bigoted. He painted all Christians with a broad brush and talked down to us like we were children. There are many millions of Christians in the USA alone and they are not all alike.

There is a movement taking place where certain groups, which I feel you may adhere, believe that “Christians” need “coaching” in the interpretation of the scriptures by other “Christians.” The New Testament is clear in regards to how knowledge and wisdom is acquired. It is through a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, who died and rose again. God has equipped believers with his Holy Spirit in the reading of the scripture to breath life and truth. It should result in unity among believers. One of the greatest attributes of the message of the Gospel is that it is accessible and simple. We see written in Acts 4:13 “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” That is an excellent example of the power of the Holy Spirit working in Peter and John as they humbly followed their calling, not schooled and intellectual, but faithful and willing.

If there is dissension and disunity the solution is not humans telling other humans how they are misinterpreting the scriptures. It is by getting on our knees and praying together on issues that appear to be a struggle for many people. In Ephesians 4: 2-6 “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” I am tired of the add-ons and the desire for many to over complicate things that are meant to be simple and accessible to all. A human intellect will never be greater than God’s infinite knowledge and if your instinct is to challenge that point, than I pray God’s mercy on you. When it comes to authority we must always trust the scriptures and the spirit over being swayed by man’s ever changing and wandering thoughts. While some people may bring interesting ideas to the table or give ideas to ponder they must still always be tested and discerned with the scriptures.

People need to recognise that the scriptures were written for believers and the guidelines are for those who love the Lord. For those who have not heard the message or have chosen a different path, as is their free will absolutely allows and should be respected, Christians are called to the great commission Matthew 28: 18-20 “ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The commission is not to win people by going around and trying to change behaviour to start making them “look like Christians.” History shows many tried to do it this way, and they were wrong! Please, test that statement against the scriptures, you’ll see that anyone who went in and forcefully tried to change others through persecution did not line up with the call and they will be judged ever so harshly. Just like those who are continually trying to add on to the scriptures or to fit in with the world. For example, Universalism, a very rampant theme among professing believers that needs to be seriously questioned and challenged.

The Christian’s commission is about love and offering the gift of Salvation. It is through a divine miracle that hearts are saved. The working of the Holy Spirit in a life is how change happens.

As Christians we must hold to the values lined in scripture and have Christ as the model for our lives. That means living very counter to modern culture. The counter culture is not one of seclusion, it is one where we love our neighbour as our self without conforming to the patterns of this world. The path is narrow. Not easy, not convenient, and not widely accepted. Very very narrow.

I will always be weary of those on a soap box yelling “4 things all Christians Must Change!” When God’s standard is the one that counts. Your article is very burdensome.

All of you and your imaginary sky daddy would be amusing, except that you do so much damage in the world. How about “love one another” and “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” That’s all the religion anyone needs. The rest is a security blanket for those of you who are afraid to face the fact that when you die, you’re simply dead. As in cease to exist. So stop praying and start taking action, take responsibility for your own life, and make this life the best you possibly can. It’s all you get.

You are free to take the advice or ignore it, which would fit right in with what most people seem to believe about their personal journey with Jesus.

I don’t otherwise understand your post. There is no one way to follow Christ. We all must become disciples and follow him individually, and celebrate that each of us is flowing in the same stream but swimming our unique paths.

Mr. Boeskool is saying, in my opinion, that we as Christians can do better in how we act and behave so as to cause less scandal and unnecessary offense.

You are free to consider his advice, weigh it against your own understanding, and follow Jesus.

We’re free to examine each other’s behavior, compare it to our understanding of Christian behavior and praxis, and comment on it.